Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Sir Richard Branson, the founder and president of Virgin Galactic, says that his commercial spacecraft will be carrying its first paying customers within a year. Virgin’s initial flights will be sub-orbital, but Sir Richard acknowledges that his long-term goal is orbital flight — he just won’t say when that will happen.

In other news, the European debt crisis may be spreading to Italy. Although Italy’s economy is strong, it has an enormous amount of public debt, and may become vulnerable if Portugal or Spain gets bailed out. France holds a lot of Italian debt, so it may be next.

Commenters are advised to leave their comments at this post (rather than with the news articles) so that they are more easily accessible.

Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. We check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.

Muamar Ghadafi, the wacky, blonde-loving, tent-dwelling, playboy Libyan dictator and man of many spellings, is at it again: he is demanding payments from the European Union to keep black Africans from crossing his country to reach the Mediterranean. These desperate migrants never pause in Libya — which is not a congenial place for non-Arabs — but strive as soon as possible to cross over to Spain, France, and Italy, where they can live in luxury at state expense. They thereby also gain access to the entire European Union, and can head further north to Sweden and Norway, where the pickings are even fatter.

Col. Qadaffi has pulled this shakedown before, but was evidently dissatisfied with the results, and wants the EU to cough up again — this time to the tune of €5 billion. He seems to assume the EUniks are so desperate to keep equatorial Africans out of Europe that they will pay whatever he asks.

Below are two articles about the latest antics from the Colonel of the Sand Dunes. First, from ANSAmed:

TRIPOLI, NOVEMBER 29 — The European Union should give 5 billion euros to Libya to “stop” illegal immigrants, otherwise “an entire continent will pour into Europe”. This is according to the Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, who has again made demands from Europe during the EU-Africa summit.

“In order to stop illegal immigration, something significant must be done, otherwise an entire continent will pour into Europe. If Europe gives us 5 billion euros, Libya will be able to stem the flow,” said the Libyan leader, repeating a request made in Rome in August.

“The only country that collaborates with us is Italy,” said Gaddafi with regards to tackling illegal immigration, adding that “Italy is a civilised country that has made up for its past” as a colonising country.

During his speech at the opening of the summit, Gaddafi said that “Libya is the filter of immigration” coming from all over Africa.

“Africa and Europe are the spine of the world and must cooperate,” Gaddafi said. On immigration, he reasserted that “the only country that collaborates with us is Italy. Thanks to our cooperation with them, we have been able to exert control over immigration”.

Regarding the request for 5 billion euros per year from Europe, the Libyan leader said: “We do not need to beg for help, but we want investments”. (ANSAmed).

“Investments”, eh?

In other words: “That’s a nice little continent you’ve got there. Wouldn’t like to see anything happen to it…”

And, as the The Telegraph reports, Col. Qadafi employed a turn of phrase that would have earned him a charge of “hate speech” if he weren’t a person of color himself:

An EDL protester was recently fined £200 for “making offensive comments about Allah” during a demonstration in Leicester. Even though police officers and the EDL were the only ones able to hear what he said, the prosecution said people were “likely to be offended” and the police were “likely to have been alarmed”. His words were considered “threatening, abusive or insulting” and likely to cause “harassment, alarm or distress”.

The convicted man said he did not think he would offend anyone.

But suppose he had intended offense? Why is that a legal issue?

Why is offending someone the sole basis for prosecution in countries that supposedly uphold civil liberties for their citizens?

Vlad Tepes and I discussed the issue for a while and devised the following response:

The Western Australian health authorities have decided to make an exception for burqa-like swimwear in public swimming pools, on the basis of religious beliefs. Past complaints have cost them dearly in civil lawsuit payouts, so an adjustment to the official policy became necessary.

If non-Muslims were to wear similar clothing, it would be considered unhygienic, and they would not be allowed in the pool. But the magic of Islam can perform many wonders, and one of them seems to be to reverse bad hygiene. Say the shahada, and presto! The bacteria flee from the scene.

Monday, November 29, 2010

Two nuclear scientists in Iran were attacked today by bombers who rode motorcycles. The motorcyclists approached the vehicles and attached small bombs to their windows. One of the two scientists was killed, and the other was seriously injured.

In other news, the fallout continues from the massive new Wikileaks document release. Various politicians — including Silvio Berlusconi, Angela Merkel, and Hillary Clinton — have been forced to react to the revelations, some of them not at all flattering.

Thanks to C. Cantoni, DF, Fjordman, Gaia, Insubria, JD, JP, Kitman, Lexington, Nilk, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.

Commenters are advised to leave their comments at this post (rather than with the news articles) so that they are more easily accessible.

Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. We check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.

Below is a fascinating essay by Olavo de Carvalho about René Guénon and Frithjof Schuon. The article was originally published in Jornal do Brasil, and was translated from the Portuguese by Alessandro Cota and Bruno Mori for the author’s website.

I admit to an unfamiliarity with Guénon and Schuon, but from browsing the online information about the two men, it seems that they would probably have been labeled Theosophists if they had lived in the Anglosphere.

Discreet influencesby Olavo de CarvalhoJornal do Brasil, May 8, 2008

Translated by Alessandro Cota and Bruno Mori

When the Swiss painter and poet Frithjof Schuon (1907—1998) returned from the East in the forties, transfigured into the supreme master of one of the most influential Muslim esoteric organizations and announcing that he would Islamize Europe, he gave the clear impression of being completely mad. Today it behooves us to examine with humility his words and the course of his actions, whose overwhelming efficiency contrasts with the total discretion with which they were undertaken.

To begin with, the creation of Schuon’s tariqah (Islamic initiation lodge) in Lausanne was hailed by the esoteric writer René Guénon (1886—1951) as the only promising result of his own efforts of four decades. This clearly shows the meaning of those efforts and, the later rupture between Guénon and Schuon notwithstanding, evinces the perfect continuity of the work of these two esoterists, whose respective disciples nowadays prefer hating one another to celebrating the common victory over a spiritually weakened Europe.

Guénon, the author of masterly analyses of the decay of the European West, had concluded in the 1920s that only three roads offered themselves to this civilization: the fall into barbarism, the restoration of the Catholic Church, or Islamization. On uttering those words about Frithjof Schuon, he had already given up the second alternative. The fiasco of the Second Vatican Council, whose appearances the popes have in vain been trying to save, proved in the end that his diagnosis was, in outline, correct.

The radically de-Christianized Europe is today the stage of an open strife between barbarism and Islamism. There is no third way, apparently (“secular civilization” is a joke). The possibility of rescuing the Christian option depends entirely on the American influence or on the admirable dedication of Eastern and African priests and pastors, who, in a paradoxical turn of history, have come to try to recatechize the people by whom they were Christianized.

Geert Wilders will go on trial again on February 7th. Many thanks to our Flemish correspondent VH for translating this brief item from de Rechtspraak:

Amsterdam, Wednesday, November 24, 2010 — The criminal case against Mr. Wilders will be continued on Monday, February 7, 2011 at 10:00 in the Amsterdam court. The session begins with a public directional hearing where the parties may reveal what their wishes are concerning the continuation of the case. The court initially had proposed to continue in mid-December 2010, but it turned out that too many parties involved were unable to attend during that time period.

Earlier today, in a post at Jihad Watch about the current assault on free speech, Robert Spencer had this to say about Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff’s case (and kindly included a link to Elisabeth’s Save Free Speech website):

Meanwhile, in Austria the kangaroo trial of freedom fighter Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff for telling the truth about Islam has begun. Latest updates here. I offered to testify on Elisabeth’s behalf in that case, and the offer still stands; I’ll be keeping you updated on that case as well.

This was not in fact a full account of what happened.

I left a comment on the post (it was comment #7 at the time) to clarify the train of events. Shortly after I posted my comment at Jihad Watch, a reader pointed out that it had been inexplicably deleted.

Below is a screen cap of the full text of my comment as it appeared at the time of posting:

I’ll reproduce the entire text below the jump.

Elisabeth obviously did respond to Mr. Spencer’s offer, although as of post time he has not yet acknowledged that fact publicly.

In the four-day gap between Mr. Spencer’s withdrawal of his original offer and his apparent change of mind, Elisabeth became quite concerned about whether or not she had enough experts on Islam to call as potential witnesses during the next phase of her trial. She quickly contacted other knowledgeable people, and was fortunate to find additional experts — people who were closer by, in Europe — to assist her at the trial. For that reason, she declined any further help from Robert Spencer.

So that’s what happened. Elisabeth is not ungrateful for Mr. Spencer’s offers of help. Under stress in the face of what lay ahead, she simply needed a firm commitment, and was able to secure that promptly from others.

In case the above image is hard to read, here’s the full text of my comment before it was deleted from Jihad Watch:

Our German translator JLH sends this interesting little news story from Austria about the crackdown on an annoying yodeler. He says:

Here is a little item from Austria outside of Vienna that may be humorously horrifying. Politically Incorrect has a link to SOS-Oesterreich, where we find that ironically this Bosnian Muslim community that complained about the yodeling is the very one that is being allowed to build the first mosque with minaret in Graz. Just imagine Roy Rogers being handcuffed and led away from the microphone because he had offended some institution down the street that was blaring the call to prayer loud enough to rattle the dishes for a mile around.

Why is a blameless 63-year old retiree who yodeled while cutting his grass fined 800 Euros, you ask? Right: Muslims perceived the yodeling of Helmut G. to be an insult to their religious feelings. They complained to the court — and received justice.

The Austria KRONE online reports on an incredible judicial scandal. Helmut G. was busy on Friday afternoon, mowing his grass. “And because I was just in such a good mood, I yodeled along with it and sang a few songs,” says the retiree, speaking to the Styrian Crown. That was not all right with his neighbors — believing Muslims. They had gathered in their house at prayer hour, which was also broadcast into their yard by loudspeaker.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

The big news story of the day concerns the latest document dump of classified material from Wikileaks. This time the incriminating documents are diplomatic cables sent to and from American embassies and consulates overseas. Included in the embarrassing information that was exposed:

President Obama has a low opinion of British Prime Minister David Cameron.

Washington is worried about Islamic fundamentalists in the Turkish government.

Saudi Arabia urged a military attack to stop Iran from getting the bomb.

Hillary Clinton ordered that foreign diplomats at the UN be spied upon.

…and much, much more.

In other news, despite the dire state of finances in the European Union, the European Court of Justice ruled that the 3.7% pay increase for EU officials in Brussels must not be cut.

Thanks to Barry Rubin, C. Cantoni, DF, DL, Gaia, heroyalwhyness, Insubria, JD, Klein Verzet, McR, Nick, Nilk, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.

Commenters are advised to leave their comments at this post (rather than with the news articles) so that they are more easily accessible.

Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. We check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.

Michael Mannheimer returns with another guest-essay. The original German version was published on March 23, 2010 at Politically Incorrect.

The Principle of Abrogation in the Quranby Michael Mannheimer

Translation: Anders Denken and Tim Biagiotti

The trick behind the apparent inconsistency of the Quran and why the radical Muslims are always correct

Like no other holy book among the world religions, the Quran contains an abundance of contradictory expressions. What is forbidden in one place is expressly demanded in another, and vice versa. However, the contradictory quality of the Quran is only an apparent one. It falls apart abruptly when one recognizes the very carefully protected secret hidden within the architecture of the Quran. For the Quranic Suras (chapters) are not arranged chronologically, but rather according to their length — and the newer Suras (from Muhammad’s violent later phase when he was in Medina) override the older ones from his era in Mecca that were comparatively more peaceful. However, this secret is guarded by Islamic scholars very closely as if it were a holy grail — and is aired only on particular occasions.

In spite of the fact that almost all international terror acts of the last decade have been carried out by Muslims, Islamic scholars insist that Islam is a “religion of peace.” As the underpinning for their thesis, they cite Quran verses such as like Sura 5 verse 32, according to which the one who “kills a person,” shall be “like one who has murdered the whole of mankind.”1

Critics of Islam confront Muslims about this with Suras that demand the opposite: namely the murder of infidels. Thus in Sura 47 verse 4, it says: “And if you meet the infidels, then off with their head until you have spread a massacre among them.”

Almost every media report about Islam and nearly all talk shows with and about Muslims and their faith revolve around the central question of whether Islam is a religion of peace or of terror. And most of the reports and talk shows consistently finish the same way: the mostly uninformed viewer is exactly as knowledgeable as before. For the defenders of Islam cite ostensibly peaceful Quran verses while their critics point to the countless terrorist acts of violence that are carried out by Muslims in the name of Islam. Like with communism once upon a time, nowadays the Muslim advocates also answer with the remark that those violent acts have nothing to do with Islam. And like the communists back then, most Muslims today also regularly suppress the reports of the thousands of atrocities and human rights offenses — committed in the countries of Islam and the countries of “infidels” — in their debates and in contrast point to the alleged guilt of the West, to its colonization and capitalism as the real cause for that terror. As communists did in their time, Muslims and their Western apologists assert today that the worldwide terror acts result from the “understandable” and desperate condition of the poorest in the face of the dominance and humiliation from the West, and in reality have nothing to do with Islam.

However, the facts speak a totally different language. In the Index of Christian Persecution by Open Doors that lists the 50 worst countries for persecution of Christians, 40 places are occupied by Islamic states — in the highest position. And in the Anticorruption Index of the UN, Islamic states consistently show as the most corrupt power structures on our planet. And the majority of applicants for asylum in Western lands originate from Islamic countries in which almost all human rights are systematically denied (in Holland for example, some nine out of ten applicants are from Islamic countries).

Since the first days of their religion, Muslims have shown themselves incapable of searching out possible causes for their disaster. Islam’s complete incapability of exercising self-criticism and self-examination on one side, and the pathological, all-encompassing self-loathing of the West on the other, form fruitful ideological humus, and on this fertile ground Islam is currently spreading with a historically unmatched speed in the countries of the West, and has additionally become greatest danger in history to the cultural and ideological survival of Western culture.

Islam is neither anticapitalist nor anticolonialist, nor does it aim for the equality of all people.

For Islam deals neither with the abolition of capitalism nor with the abolition of colonialism, and especially does not concern itself with the abolition of human and individual equality. Islam is, and has always been, capitalistically structured: from the very beginning it has supported itself less by production and more by trade. With its international trade practices, Muslim marketers have acquired much influence and affluence by the most inexpensive purchase possible of undesired products and then the subsequent sale of those products in other places for maximum profit. According to Marxist terminology, such trade, which appropriates the surplus value of the poor but value-determining proletariat (for the earlier era of Islam, they were day-workers and poor plantation workers) without letting them participate in the profit, is termed “capitalism” as defined by Marx and Lenin.

And from the very beginning, Muslims have fallen upon foreign people, colonized them, and where possible Islamized them, and preyed upon their productivity in the form of taxes. Islamic imperialism already existed long before Western imperialism, whether in North African states (that were primarily Christian and Jewish), or in Spain (Cordoba Islam), or in the conquest and imperial assimilation of the early Jewish-Christian Middle East, or by the attack and partial conquest of India costing millions of Hindus their lives and nearly wiping out the peacefully minded Buddhists, who had no defence against the murderous attacks of the Arabs. Also the Ottoman kingdom was an Islamic empire, long before the Spaniards, Portuguese and English colonized foreign peoples. However, in politically correct fashion, the imperialistic aspect of Islam has been and is to this day completely ignored by sociologists, political scientists, Islam scientists and historians.

Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff spoke yesterday at a conference sponsored by IFPS at Trykkefrihedsselskabet (the Danish Free Press Society) in Copenhagen.

Below is a video recording of her speech, followed by a very interesting question and answer session. One of the more intriguing questions is raised by the Dutch author Arthur Legger, who suggests that it is time for an international pooling of legal talent — a Europe-wide consortium of lawyers — to fight the EU’s “hate speech” laws.

Many thanks to Vlad Tepes for uploading this video. The sound is a bit peculiar, because it has been adjusted to filter out the background noise. Vlad says he is working to improve it:

The text of Elisabeth’s speech is here. The video above departs only slightly from the prepared text, but the Q&A is obviously not included at all.

Previous posts about the hate speech case against Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff:

This time last year the Swiss pulled out ahead of the rest of Western Europe when they voted in favor of a ban on the building of new minarets. They followed it up today by approving a referendum that would force the deportation of all foreigners convicted of serious criminal offenses.

The oligarchy which runs Switzerland — like the oligarchies that administer all Western countries — was desperate to stop this initiative. They tried to lure voters into supporting a watered-down version, which would have recommended deportation, but left the final decision up to judges, who would evaluate each individual case on the merits.

Swiss voters, perhaps noticing what happens when things are left to the discretion of progressive-minded judges, did not take the bait, and 53% voted for the stronger version of the new law.

It’s worth noting that all major Christian denominations opposed the measure. Just as in Britain, Sweden, Germany, and the Netherlands, organized Christianity seems consistently to act against the interests and welfare of the native population. The same is true of the major Protestant denominations in the United States, which are wholly in thrall to progressive trans-nationalism. Even the Vatican has in large part caved in to Multicultural orthodoxy.

Notice also that foreigners were reported to be overwhelmingly against the initiative. Well, DUH!

The media probably expect native white Europeans to feel guilty when they hear that the Swiss have offended their foreign guests with their “xenophobia”. But the vote didn’t affect me that way, and I strongly suspect that the majority of Europeans are not wallowing in guilt as called for by the script. Most people are probably thinking, “At last! A display of common sense!”

The Swiss have voted to adopt tough new regulations on the deportation of foreigners convicted of serious crimes and welfare fraud.

Final results showed 53 per cent voting in favour of a rightwing initiative. The initiative also won the backing of 18 out of 26 cantons.

In a complex nationwide vote on Sunday, the electorate were faced with a choice between a hardline option and a compromise version; or approving or rejecting both proposals.

Turnout was higher than usual — at 52 per cent — a sign of how contentious were the issues being voted on.

The rightwing People’s Party initiative called for the automatic expulsion of non-Swiss offenders convicted of crimes ranging from murder to breaking and entry and social security fraud. The proposal denies judges judicial discretion over deportation.

An alternative option by parliament would have allowed for a case-by-case examination and additional integration measures.

Parliament’s counter-proposal was rejected by 54 per cent of voters, results showed.

An unofficial voting platform for migrants, Baloti, reported very different voting results: 85 per cent against the initiative, and 15 per cent for.

Saturday, November 27, 2010

More than 100,000 people demonstrated on the streets of Dublin today in protest against the Irish government’s decision to accept a bank bailout from the EU. The market boost from Ireland’s decision didn’t last long, and the bond market has responded to the continuing European debt crisis with record yields. Investors speculate on which country will be next to need a rescue, and even German bonds are feeling the crunch, as doubt emerges as to how long Germany can keep on rescuing the other member states of the EU.

In other news, an Egyptian-born lesbian teenager in Wales is terrified that she will be deported to her native country. Since her family fled Egypt she has “come out”, but now her parents have been refused asylum in the UK, and she may be deported.

Thanks to Bewick, C. Cantoni, DF, Fjordman, Gaia, heroyalwhyness, JD, JP, Kitman, Lurker from Tulsa, Nick, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.

Commenters are advised to leave their comments at this post (rather than with the news articles) so that they are more easily accessible.

Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. We check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.

The city of Portland, Oregon escaped disaster last night when a young mujahid failed in his attempt to detonate a car bomb during a crowded tree-lighting ceremony in a downtown square.

The culturally enriched teenage terrorist intended to make a “spectacular show”, and didn’t mind if he killed children and babies. He thought his cell phone would set off the bomb, but didn’t realize that he had bought his bogus “explosives” from FBI operatives. This was a smoothly-executed sting, and the Portland FBI office is to be commended for its deft handling of the case.

At least three people have emailed me to point out an interesting aspect of this incident: it has the first known Mohammed Coefficient of over 100%. The alleged would-be Portland Christmas Tree Bomber is a 19-year-old Somali-American named Mohamed Osman Mohamud, which gives this incident a Mohammed Coefficient of 200%.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

When I first started collecting material for this post, I downloaded the news article and the FBI press release into a document, and searched the combined text for certain keywords to determine whether it complied with anti-Islamophobic Muslim Brotherhood guidelines.

1.

“Islam”. Incidence: 0. Check.

2.

“Muslim”. Incidence: 0. Check.

3.

“Allah”. Incidence: 0. Check.

4.

“Mohammed”. Incidence: 0. (except for the name of the perp) Check.

5.

“Jihad”. Incidence: 7. FAIL!

What’s this? How could it be?? The word “jihad” appears four times in the FBI’s own press release!

This violates specific directives issued at the highest levels of the Justice Department: the word “jihad” is not to be used by employees of the department, because it is subject to varying interpretations. The most frequently used definition, according to the guidelines, is “inner struggle”, and agents are instructed not to antagonize their Muslim fellow citizens by using it in a way that implies a reference to violence and holy war.

So what’s it doing in the press release, then?

Well, the FBI had a slight problem: young Mohamud involved himself with an online outfit called “Jihad Recollections”. I suppose it would have been possible to write the name as “J***d Recollections” instead, but that would have been a bit too much. Besides, Mr. Mohamud larded his talk generously with the word “jihad”, and meant it to have the sense of “killing unbelievers in the name of Allah”. He was obviously one of the tiny minority of Muslims who have mistakenly misconstrued the meaning of the word.

Yes, the unfortunate fact is that virtually one hundred percent of the terrorists who are trying to kill us — especially the ones with “Mohammed” in their names — believe that they are waging jihad against the infidel for the sake of Allah as written in the Koran and revealed to his messenger Mohammed. If only we could engage these confused kids, and help them understand the mistake they are making!

This problem will obviously require a much larger federal expenditure for education and outreach within the Muslim community.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Below are some excerpts from the news report and the press release. First, from Oregon Live:

The FBI thwarted an attempted terrorist bombing in Portland’s Pioneer Courthouse Square before the city’s annual tree-lighting Friday night, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Oregon.

A Corvallis man, thinking he was going to ignite a bomb, drove a van to the corner of the square at Southwest Yamhill Street and Sixth Avenue and attempted to detonate it.

However, the supposed explosive was a dummy that FBI operatives supplied to him, according to an affidavit in support of a criminal complaint signed Friday night by U.S. Magistrate Judge John V. Acosta.

Mohamed Osman Mohamud, 19, a Somali-born U.S. citizen, was arrested at 5:42 p.m., 18 minutes before the tree lighting was to occur, on an accusation of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction. The felony charge carries a maximum sentence of life in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Five Thousand Strong English Defence League Demonstration Against Sharia in Preston

Around 5000 EDL supporters braved the winter weather to assemble in Preston against sharia. This was one of two simultaneous EDL demonstrations in different parts of England which demonstrates a new capability for the organisation. It will only be a matter of time before numerous demonstrations will be possible simultaneously.

The demonstration in Preston was largely peaceful, though some trouble was caused during the speeches by some agent provocateurs who had disguised themselves as football fans. The genuine EDL supporters made their views clear with regard to this group of trouble makers. It seems that all manner of measures is used by the EDL’s opponents to disrupt its peaceful demonstrations in an attempt to tarnish its image. The Government has lost the argument and seems willing to resort to any manner of dirty tricks in their desperation.

The police behaved in an exemplary and friendly manner both before and during the demonstration. The only real problems occurred afterwards. As EDL supporters were socialising after the protest had taken place, the numerous pubs where they had congregated were raided by the police and all occupants forced to leave. It seems that this was a deliberate provocation, perhaps ordered by the senior politically appointed officers, in order to get EDL supporters to react to this outrageous treatment. It seems that the last thing that the powers that be want is a peaceful EDL demonstration. Nevertheless, the vast majority of EDL supporters didn’t react to this strategy. The way that the police has been corrupted by the oligarchs who now run the British state now means that it is more essential than ever that senior police officers are directly elected like they are in the United States. Politically motivated policing is undermining confidence in the police service and undermining equality before the law which is at the very heart of our democracy (though at odds with sharia).

I stand here before you in the city of Copenhagen in the year 2010. This is widely considered to be an enlightened country in the heart of an enlightened continent.

Our basic freedoms have long been guaranteed — first by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as passed by the United Nations in 1948, and then buttressed by the Council of Europe in 1950 through the European Convention of Human Rights, which was later affirmed by the European Union. Our individual countries have additionally codified the same basic rights in their own constitutions.

These rights include the freedom of individual conscience, the right to assemble peaceably, and the right to practice our religion freely, or to have no religion at all. And, perhaps most importantly of all, they include the right to voice our opinions freely and to publish them without hindrance.

Yet freedom of speech is under attack today here in Denmark, as it is in my own country Austria, and indeed all across Europe. Today, in 21st century Western Europe, our right to free speech is being shut down quietly and systematically with an effectiveness that the commissars in the old Soviet Union could only dream of.

A milestone in this ominous totalitarian trend will be reached tomorrow, 28 November 2010, when the member states of the European Union are required to implement an innocuous-sounding legal provision known as the “Framework decision on combating racism and xenophobia”, or, more fully, the “Council Framework Decision 2008/913/JHA of 28 November 2008 on combating certain forms and expressions of racism and xenophobia by means of criminal law.” According to the final article of the Framework Decision, “Member States shall take the necessary measures to comply with the provisions of this Framework Decision by 28 November 2010.”

Why does this matter to the cause of free speech in Europe?

If you read the full text of the Framework Decision (which may be found in the legislative section of the EU’s website), you will learn that “Each Member State shall take the measures necessary… to ensure that the following intentional conduct is punishable.” Such “intentional conduct” includes “conduct which is a pretext for directing acts against a group of persons or a member of such a group defined by reference to race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin.”

Based on what has recently happened to Geert Wilders and me — and earlier to Gregorius Nekschot, Jussi Halla-aho, and numerous others — we can all guess who will be punished under this provision of the Framework Decision: those who criticize Islam.

Even worse, a complaint made by a member state does not have to be “dependent on a report or an accusation made by a victim of the conduct”, nor does the alleged offender have to be “physically present in its territory”.

In other words, if the dhimmi Austrian government objects to a cartoon published by Kurt Westergaard here in Denmark, Mr. Westergaard may be extradited by the Austrian Ministry of Justice to answer to hate speech charges in Austria. The European Arrest Warrant guarantees that the Danish government cannot legally interfere with such an extradition, and the 800-strong “European Gendarmerie Force” would be available to fetch Mr. Westergaard out of his bed and bring him to Vienna — with impunity.

As of tomorrow, the above scenario becomes a real possibility. It is not a paranoid fantasy. These legal provisions are detailed in the EU’s public documents, and they will enjoy the full force of law in all EU member states as of midnight tonight.

Friday, November 26, 2010

Canada has decided to boycott the UN’s proposed “Durban III” conference. Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said that the event would encourage racism rather than fight it, and said that his country could no longer take part in such a “charade”.

In other news, President Obama was accidentally elbowed in the lip by an opposing player in a basketball game at Ft. McNair. The president required twelve stitches to close the cut.

Meanwhile, India has created two new divisions — more than 36,000 soldiers — and deployed them in the northeast of the country to guard against a Chinese attack through Burma.

Commenters are advised to leave their comments at this post (rather than with the news articles) so that they are more easily accessible.

Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. We check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.

Below is a news report from AINA about the latest outbreak in an ongoing conflict between the Copts and the municipal authorities in Giza, a suburb of Cairo. The construction of a new church is underway, for which the Christians say they have the proper permits, but the government has intervened to stop the church from being built.

The trouble started earlier this month, and the persecution only grew more intense after the Copts resisted the government’s actions. What’s interesting about this latest incident is that the Copts have not been cowed, but are staging mass demonstrations and protesting vigorously.

I’ve reposted the entire article below. Click through the original to see the photos:

Egyptian Christians Clash With State Security Forces Over Church Construction

By Mary Abdelmassih

(AINA) — Clashes broke out between Christian protesters and Egyptian security forces over the construction of St. Mary and St. Michael church in Talbiya, within the Omraniya neighborhood of Giza, resulting in the killing of two Copts, hundreds of injuries and the arrest of more than 200 Copts.

Nearly 5,000 security forces with over 45 vehicles cordoned off the church site at 3:00 am on Wednesday November 24, while builders were working on the roof. They used tear gas, rubber bullets and live ammunition (video of Copts being shot at).

Later on Muslims joined security forces in pelting Copts with stones from under the bridge of the ring road overlooking the Church (Picture enclosed).

This was the second time within three days that security forces stormed the Church, but this time they successfully entered and occupied the building. According to eyewitnesses, security forces fired tear gas inside the church, where nearly 200 people were keeping vigil, afraid that security might enter and demolish the building.

“The forces arrived and told us over the microphone to stop working and leave the church, then they started firing tear gas and rubber bullets,” one of the witnesses said. “They went to church and fired tear gas on women and children who were in church. They ran after us over a quarter of a mile to arrest us.”

Swedish artist Lars Vilks is in the news again — and also in the crosshairs of the Great Jihad. Mr. Vilks, the creator of the notorious Modoggies, has been the object of death plots in the past, the most notorious of them hatched by the American mujahidette “Jihad Jane”.

Now the fatwas are flying again, and the Modoggie Man has just been targeted for death by al-Shabab, the local franchise of Al Qaeda in Somalia.

WASHINGTON - A Swedish fighter with the Shebab, a Somalian militia with ties to Al-Qaeda, has urged Muslims to kill an artist from Sweden who depicted the Prophet Mohammed as a dog, US monitoring group SITE said Tuesday.

“Wherever you are, if not today or tomorrow, know that we haven’t yet forgotten about you,” said the Shebab member Abu Zaid in a video warning to artist Lars Vilks.

“We will get hold of you and with Allah’s permission we will catch you wherever you are and in whatever hole you are hiding in,” Zaid said in a recruitment video with English and Swahili subtitles that calls for Muslims to join the radical movement.

[…]

“Know what awaits you, as it will be nothing but this: slaughter! For that is what you deserve,” Zaid said in the video that SITE said was posted on jihadist Internet forums on Monday.

“To my brothers and sisters, I call you to make (migration), and if you can kill this dog called Lars (Vilks), then you will receive a great reward from Allah,” Zaid said, according to SITE.

Lars Vilks responded to the Somali fatwa with his customary phlegmatic calm. Rather than be alarmed by the news, he surmised that the jihadis will find the cold weather and snow in Sweden too much to tolerate, and will stay away.

Not only that, he described the latest video (embedded here below the jump) as more of a recruiting tool for al-Shabab than a real threat. The Somali jihad fighters are looking for more volunteers, and have identified the “Swedes” as likely candidates.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

President Barack Hussein Obama’s paternal grandmother, Ms. Sarah Omar, is on hajj in Mecca with the president’s uncle and four of her grandchildren. She was interviewed by the media, and said that she prays to Allah that her grandson might convert to Islam.

In other news, a school in western Sweden is in trouble for allowing its pupils to visit a church during end-of-term celebrations. The problem is that the children were encouraged by the pastor to pray while they were at the church.

Commenters are advised to leave their comments at this post (rather than with the news articles) so that they are more easily accessible.

Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. We check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.

The news items from the UK that passed through my hands today were so depressing that I could hardly bear to look at them.

First there was the story about a 15-year-old girl who was arrested for burning a Koran and posting a video of the act on Facebook. She may be charged with “inciting religious hatred”.

But Muslims in Britain need not fear: an All-Party Parliamentary Group on Islamophobia has now been established. In the future anyone who insults Muslims or denigrates Islam will be held to account by the people’s elected representatives.

As far as Her Majesty’s government is concerned, Islam has nothing to do with terrorism. Despite the fact that more than 99% of the world’s terror attacks are committed by Muslims who fight jihad in the name of Allah, Mohammed and the religion he founded never impinge upon the “narrative”. There is only “terrorism”, which is committed by “violent extremists”.

And also, of course, the “Islamophobes” who slander the peaceful Muslims.

God help Britain.

As a Thanksgiving Day present from the Colonials to Blighty, here’s a reminder that things in Albion were not always this way. The poem below is by the renowned tragic Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822):

To The Men of England

Men of England, wherefore plough For the lords who lay ye low? Wherefore weave with toil and care The rich robes your tyrants wear?

Wherefore feed and clothe and save, From the cradle to the grave, Those ungrateful drones who would Drain your sweat — nay, drink your blood?

Wherefore, Bees of England, forge Many a weapon, chain, and scourge, That these stingless drones may spoil The forced produce of your toil?

Have ye leisure, comfort, calm, Shelter, food, love’s gentle balm? Or what is it ye buy so dear With your pain and with your fear?

My normal procedure on Thanksgiving is to thank everyone who makes Gates of Vienna possible. But the number of people I need to thank has grown so huge — the tipsters, correspondents, translators, and contributors now comprise more than a hundred people — that it is very difficult to do. I made an attempt during our fundraiser a couple of weeks ago, so that will have to serve, even though I left some people out — which is all but inevitable.

I’ll just thank everyone together: you all know who you are.

Let’s back off a bit and see what makes all this work. The various categories of people who are necessary for the functioning of this enterprise are:

Readers

Commenters

Tipsters

Correspondents

Translators

Transcribers

Video people

Contributors (in the sense of writers who contribute guest-posts)

Donors

There’s a lot of overlap there — some people wear several hats. We have tipsters who are correspondents, and contributors who are also translators. This is a distributed operation, so the assignments tend to divide themselves up amongst the people who can best perform them.

The larger enterprise has become considerably more effective over the last two or three years because we have collected enough people to perform all the necessary tasks. We also have (mostly) sufficient redundancy to make sure we can do the job when required.

For example, yesterday afternoon our Danish correspondent TB sent a tip about the “Terror Cell” TV series. He didn’t have the time to translate the Politiken articles, so we sent the task to Anne-Kit in Australia, who delivered the translations promptly. Another volunteer then YouTubed the trailer (minus the commercial, thank you!), and the whole piece was posted on the same day the articles were published in Denmark.

Now that’s efficiency.

And it had nothing to do with me or Dymphna, but everything to do with the Gates of Vienna community. This transatlantic (and trans-Pacific) confluence of talent and dedication is what makes our project possible.

So thanks to everybody for being willing to work together towards our common ends. It brings to mind a relevant chapter from the Tao Te Ching:

The essay below by Andreas Unterberger is follow-up to his previous article on the trial of Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff. Our German translator JLH has this to say about it:

In the comments section to this piece, Elisabeth’s lead lawyer, Michael Rami, takes note of the Terrorism Prevention Law and some of the government’s desired additions, whose effect, as he points out will allow the state to force its citizens to adopt certain, extremely vague “values.” At that point, as he notes, 1984 is not far away.

The next thing for the out-of-control prosecutor’s office will no doubt be to put the Pope in the dock! You have to come to this conclusion when you compare the questions an Austrian citizen in court had to answer, to that which the Pope says in a book of interviews presented at the same time in Rome to a worldwide uproar.

But apparently the prosecutors are waiting for the usual charge to be made by the “News”, which is kept afloat by ads from innumerable SPÖ politicians. As they did with now-defendant Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff. The trial was adjourned.

At any rate, Sabaditsch had to justify herself against the charge of identifying Islam itself as the problem and not, as is apparently the opinion of the politically ubercorrect lady judge, merely a few, isolated Islamists. This question, testifying to boundless cluelessness, was asked at almost the same hour as the presentation of the Pope’s new book, in which Benedict XVI dares to say: “It became obvious that Islam must clarify two questions: namely, its relationship to violence and to reason.”

So it is “Islam”, not just a couple of anarchists. Thousands of times, and quite rightly, it has been charged against Islam as a whole that a series of justifications of violence against non-Mulsims can be found in the Koran, and that the majority of scholars of Islam abjure reason-oriented interpretation of Koranic text.

Fortunately, the “News” and the red leaders of the Viennese prosecutor’s office will no doubt protect us from the Pope being allowed to say such a thing again without being punished. They should at least confiscate his book, since otherwise it will, with Thilo Sarrazin’s book, become by far the the biggest seller of the year, all efforts of the leftist media to the contrary notwithstanding.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

A gang of nine culturally enriched young men in the English city of Derby has been convicted of grooming and pimping underage girls, some of them as young as twelve. A Mohammed Coefficient for the entire gang is not yet available; however, for the two leaders it is 50% 100%.

In other news, there is fear that the financial crisis will spread to Belgium, whose public debt is at 100% of GDP, and which has been without a government for six months. Meanwhile, Portugal’s planned austerity measures — including cutting wages and raising taxes — have caused a massive strike of public workers, all but shutting the country down.

Commenters are advised to leave their comments at this post (rather than with the news articles) so that they are more easily accessible.

Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. We check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.

Certain clichés have taken root in our culture since 9-11. One of them is the solemn declaration that “if such-and-such happens, the terrorists will have won.”

The “such-and-such” varies, depending on the political and cultural inclinations of the person who says it. It may refer to the closing of Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House, or the building of the Ground Zero mosque. The person who says it may be making an impassioned plea for legalizing gay marriage, or imposing gun control — “If we don’t do it, the terrorists will have won.”

However, just because the sentiment is sometimes used in absurd ways doesn’t mean it’s never apropos. For example, if I have to be naked-scanned or have my generative organs groped at the airport, then I think the terrorists have won. It’s not a huge victory for them, like, say, flying the crescent and star flag over the Capitol would be. But it’s a victory nonetheless.

There have been quite a few of those little victories in the last few years. Businesses stopped giving away promotional piggy banks. Molly Norris went into hiding. Juan Williams was fired from NPR. Kurt Westergaard has to live in a specially fortified house under constant police protection.

And the Danish TV network SBS is afraid to run a comedy series about incompetent Muslim terrorists. There’s been a new terror warning in Denmark, and it has the TV executives cowering under their beds.

One of the interesting things about this story is that the Danish government helped fund a vulgar slapstick comedy series about jihad. A government minister is actually trying to compel the network (a private corporation, if I understand it correctly) to air the series, since the program has already been paid for. He says he doesn’t want to “interfere with the editorial independence of SBS”, but that’s disingenuous. Of course he does — he who pays the piper calls the tune.

Many thanks to our Danish correspondent TB for bring this to our attention, and to Anne-Kit for translating two articles from today’s Politiken. I’ve included a trailer for the TV series, so the embedded video is below the jump (to thwart the “Blogger bug”) followed by the two newspaper articles.

This news story was shown yesterday on Canadian television. It describes an attempted honor killing by a culturally enriched gentleman in Toronto who ran down his daughter and two other family members with his minivan. The confessed would-be murderer will serve four years in prison for his vehicular attack.

Our Austrian correspondent AMT sent a tip about this essay by Andreas Unterberger, and included this note:

Andreas Unterberger has hit the nail on its head and succinctly analyzed the sad state of affairs in Austria. However, after yesterday’s trial there is some hope that freedom of speech may remain. We should not hold our breaths just yet.

Austria is on the path to becoming a totalitarian state. That will be clearer than ever this Tuesday. The justice system is actually prosecuting a woman for making critical statements about Islam.

Seminar lecturer Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff — in the cabinet of Wolfgang Schüssel in the 1990s, and later active at several embassies in the Arab world — will be accused of making Islam-critical statements. Meanwhile, in Austria, for time out of mind, every discriminatory act or word against the Catholic church goes unpunished.

Behind the Sabaditsch trial — even if it should ultimately result in a not-guilty verdict — is of course stupid partisan political calculation: since the comments were made at a Freedom Party function, the belief is that the rise of the FPÖ [Austrian Freedom Party] can be combated in this way. As a next step in consequence of the show trial, the funds allocated for the Freedom Party’s academy can be removed. As the ruling parties have in the meantime decided to do, to the cheers of the Greens.

Almost simultaneously with the bringing of the charge against Sabaditsch-Wolff, probably the most depressing document of postwar Austrian legal history became public: a precise documentation by the longstanding president of the supreme court, Johann Rzeszut, which shows how very much the prosecutor’s office thwarted the pursuit of the accomplice in the kidnapping of Natascha Kumpasch.* A copy of his communication to all parliamentary groups may be found in its entirety in the internet.

It is not new that the Red and Green, in the face of steady electoral losses, are ever more willing to turn from the voting booth to the courtroom. Similarly, every dissident in the countries of Eastern Europe after 1945 was persecuted by the communists through show trials. (Something that the Social Democrats, among others affected by that, should remember). Similarly, with political trials, the Nazis criminalized dissidents by the thousands.

It is just disturbing that a minister of the ÖVP has also given permission for such a thought trial. Which, to be sure, merely confirms current judgements on the intelligence and foresight of this minister. Even more disturbing is the fact that not a soul in the ÖVP will stand up and advocate for freedom of expression. At any rate, ÖVP has long been the first party, among the meager Austrian offerings in this regard, to represent the values and convictions of classical liberalism.

In the case of the SPÖ, this kind of tradition came to an end with the departure of Bruno Kreisky. Recall wistfully how patiently he confronted the democracy-hostile and violent stupidities of his own party’s young (whose exponents then ended up with the Greens).

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Depending on which source you read, 10, 11, or 15 terrorism suspects were arrested today in Europe on suspicion of plotting jihad attacks in Belgium. The suspects were arrested in Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands. American intelligence provided information to their Belgian counterparts which helped lead to the arrests. The suspects were also tracked through their use of Jihad websites.

In other news, Ireland is in the midst of political chaos following the government’s decision to accept an EU bailout. Meanwhile, Greece is having to enforce even greater austerity to meet the EU’s debt guidelines, Portugal is thought to be next in line for a bailout, and Germany says that it cannot keep bailing out profligate fellow members of the Eurozone indefinitely.

Thanks to Amil Imani, C. Cantoni, DF, Fjordman, Gaia, GB, heroyalwhyness, ICLA, KGS, Nilk, Reinhard, Steen, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.

Commenters are advised to leave their comments at this post (rather than with the news articles) so that they are more easily accessible.

Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. We check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.

The following report came in a press release from Cyprus Action Network. It concerns a debate about the partition of Cyprus, and the illegal Turkish actions that keep the island divided.

British Members of Parliament speak like Kyrenian Refugees

On Tuesday the 16 November 2010 an emergency meeting took place in the House of Commons in London with Cyprus as its item.

At the same time president Christofias is travelling to New York, when Sir David Hannay attempts a comeback to the scene with statements through Arab TV station Al Jazira calling upon the Greek Cypriots to accept his rejected monstrosity so called “Annan Plan“ (with some modifications he says), British Members of Parliament debate in depth the Cyprus issue in the House of Commons and speak with a Kyrenian refugee voice! They hammer Turkey head on, and the Turkish Cypriots for their myths, crimes, destruction and desecration of occupied Churches and cemeteries, cultural heritage, for barbarism and huge violations of human rights, the case of the missing people, the need for all Turkish invading troops to withdraw, for the settlers to withdraw and the return of Greek Cypriot refugees to their stolen land and properties and many more…

The MPs have criticized heavily their colleague MP and ex Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary Jack Straw for his despicable article in The Times calling for partition and one even insinuated that he may have been “paid” to write it.

The British MPs spoke and called for all those things the Greek Cypriot refugees demand, only to be regarded by some of their own people as… racists and nationalists simply because they are an obstacle in the implementation of the racist bizonal bicommunal federation.

You are forwarded the full text of the House of Commons Hansard Report on the debate on the 16th November 2010 on Cyprus. The discussion starts from paragraph 212WH and finishes at paragraph 232WH.

The following television report takes an inside look at private Islamic secondary schools in the UK, and the things that are included in their curricula. Most of these schools are funded and administered by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, so the contents of their schoolbooks — death for homosexuals, hellfire for the kuffar, and amputations for thieves — will come as no surprise to regular Gates of Vienna readers.

It has caused quite a stir in Britain, however. And the fact that this investigative report came from the BBC, of all places, has made its impact even harder for the ruling oligarchy to ignore.

In this morning’s live-blogging report on Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff’s “hate speech” trial in Austria, we mentioned that Robert Spencer was one of the potential expert witnesses who might be called when the trial resumes in January. Elisabeth herself also mentioned Mr. Spencer’s offer of help during her interview last week in the New English Review, excerpts from which were reposted here.

That appears to have changed: Elisabeth says Mr. Spencer has withdrawn his offer of assistance as an expert witness. While this news is dismaying, it is fortunate that Prof. Hans Jansen and Wafa Sultan are both still willing to appear on her behalf. Professor Jansen is Dutch, and assisted Geert Wilders at the latter’s recent trial. Prof. Jansen is one of the foremost Arabists in the world. Wafa Sultan, originally from Syria but now living in America, is a Muslim apostate. She is a psychiatrist specializing in the tyranny of the theological and political ramifications of Islam.

In other words, Elisabeth has excellent, expert witnesses who can stand by her during the coming ordeal of her trial. Nonetheless, the absence of Mr. Spencer is a keenly felt setback. No one can take Mr. Spencer’s place when it comes to speaking eloquently about the danger of Islam.

I have been privileged to hear Mr. Spencer speak twice, both times in October 2007. The first occasion was in Antwerp, where he gave a talk to a gathering of Vlaams Belang members. His presentation impressed everyone. He spoke again two days later at the Counterjihad Brussels conference. Both lectures were lucid and inspiring.

Mr. Spencer’s work, his wisdom, and his ability to respond to those who promote Islam as a “Religion of Peace” have earned him a unique place as a leader in the Counterjihad. Come January, his knowledge and eloquence will be sorely missed in Vienna.

The trial of Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff for “denigrating religious teachings” begins today in Vienna. For those who are unfamiliar with the case, see the list of previous articles at the bottom of this post. This post will stay on top for a while, and updated as required. Later material will be added at the top.

This is an historic moment. Those who are not paying attention now will wish they had in years to come. The Bard’s words are fitting:

And gentlemen in England now a-bed Shall think themselves accurs’d they were not here, And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day.

— William Shakespeare, from Henry V

Note: The times given here are Helsinki time, which is an hour later than the time in Vienna. They are seven hours later than EST.

Final update 14:34 (7:34am EST): The remainder of the hearing has been postponed until January 18th, so it seems that Elisabeth’s ordeal will be dragged out for at least several more months. Those of you who are religious, please pray for her.

Below is Henrik’s final report for the day:

The NEWS journalist Dolna was called as witness. Technicalities of her recording equipment were discussed by the judge, including the fact that of the first seminar, only half an hour was recorded.

The judge inquired about some of the statements quoted being from breaks, not from the seminar proper. Only three to four persons heard those, not 32 or more, the criterion for a statement being “public”. This is important for legal reasons, as only statements made to a large group can be punishable.

The judge dug further into the methods of the journalist. Why did the journalist quote statements made in the breaks, not part of the lecture? The journalists says “For journalistic reasons”. Also for dramaturgic reasons, that it makes for a more dramatic and catching article.

Further, the judge asked if it was made clear in advance that the journalist would be recording the seminars. She responded that she had not told anyone, as her work constituted “investigative journalism”, a journalistic tool.

The lawyer probed further into the issue of the quotes being part of the prepared seminar, or offhand comments in the breaks.

Next, the events concerning the opera “Idomeneo” were discussed. The background is that the performance of this classical Mozart piece by Deutsche Oper Berlin, which was cancelled due to Islamic pressure. The director had added decapitation of Buddha, Jesus and Muhammad to the original play. Fear of unrest caused the play to be cancelled. The well-known German magazine Focus had, in that context, written that we should under no circumstances cave in to pressure like this.

This rounded off the day after roughly three hours of hearings. Since there is a need to play the complete recordings (eight hours) from the seminars, the next hearing was scheduled for January 18th.

The proceedings had a serious breach of procedure: The journalist from NEWS.at had not been summoned as a witness, yet was permitted to take the stand. Witnesses are not permitted to be present at the hearings before they are summoned. The defense lawyer will look into possible consequences of this.

This is the end of reporting for today. Please join us on January 18th 2011 for more news from the frontiers of defending the free societies of the West.

Live-blogging of the trial of Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff will resume on January 18th. In the meantime, I ask everyone to please publicize her case. We need to light a fire under the fundaments of the Austrian oligarchs who brought about this travesty of “justice”.

Update 13:54 (6:54am EST): The hearing was adjourned for the day at 12:08 local time. The afternoon session was skipped, because they will have to play the whole tape, which will take extra sessions.

What is meant by “Islamic law is not compatible with free societies, we need to understand this.”?

Elisabeth:

Islam is a whole, and this whole is not compatible with free societies like the Austrian.

Lawyer:

Did you see any veiled Muslim men?

Elisabeth

(laughing): No, this is an obligation only for women.

Lawyer:

You were referring to Paris, Brussels, Rotterdam. What is the meaning of that?

Elisabeth:

This is a reference to the no-go zones, where Sharia is effectively the law. There immigrant youths torch cars, throw stones at the police, etc.

Prosecutor:

Are each and every one of these persons Muslims?

Elisabeth:

The majority are.

Lawyer:

What is meant when you say: “How many times have we been told that Islam is a Religion of Peace?” Is this an incitement to hate or violence?

Elisabeth:

I do not mean to incite hatred or violence. We need to be informed, make people aware, inform our politicians and write letters to the newspapers.

Lawyer:

What is meant by “We do not want gender apartheid, polygamy”?

Elisabeth explains polygamy in Islam, and the fact that this is a reality in Europe, today.

Elisabeth finally tells about the First Amendment of the US Constitution, the absolute right to express ones’ opinions, as a fundamental prerequisite for a sound democracy.

At this point, more people have arrived. There are 18 seats for the audience, 30-35 listeners total.

Update 12:06 (5:06am EST): The significant event at this point of the trial is the unwrapping of ’Umdat al-salik wa ’uddat al-nasik, or The reliance of the traveller and tools of the worshipper. It is commonly referred to as Reliance of the Traveller when cited in English.

They are using the Revised Edition (published 1991, revised 1994), which is “The Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law ’Umdat al-Salik by Ahmad ibn Naqib al-Misri (d. 769/1368) in Arabic with Facing English Text, Commentary, and Appendices”, edited and translated by Nuh Ha Mim Keller. This an authoritative source on Sunni Islamic law, because it is certified as such by Al-Azhar University in Cairo.

The defense lawyer goes through some points of the charges, asking Elisabeth:

Monday, November 22, 2010

This Irish government finally caved in to pressure and accepted a bailout from the Eurozone, with additional help from the British government. The decision caused some of the smaller Irish parties, including the Greens — who objected to the planned austerity measures — to withdraw from the governing coalition. This forced Prime Minister Brian Cowen to call new elections for January, although he will not resign until after the new budget has been approved.

In other news, the Cordoba Initiative — the group behind the Ground Zero Mosque, headed by Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf — has applied for a $5 million grant from the fund set up to help rebuild Manhattan after the 9-11 attacks.

Commenters are advised to leave their comments at this post (rather than with the news articles) so that they are more easily accessible.

Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. We check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.